The Road Home, from Elsa Winters & Brad Vance

(Alternative title: ridding a roller coaster wouldn’t have given me more emotions)

Moorning, everyone! Welcome to the review for my first read of 2017! I’d say we started the year with the right foot if only I could just forget about the 748543303 reviews from 2016 I still own you. Ugh.

Today I’ll be talking about another M/M romance that I received from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review: The Road Home, from Elsa Winters & Brad Vance. The time has arrived =D Thank you so much for my copy, guys!

Nick Carpenter grew up in the foster system after watching his parents die in a car crash. Now, he’s finally found a place for himself as an EMT. Partnered with a gruff but very competent paramedic as his first assignment in Seattle, he figures that it’s best to keep this working relationship strictly professional, even if Andrew is hot as hell.

Andrew Hazard loves his job, even if he gets paired with a different EMT every couple weeks. Once an EMT proves himself incompetent, Andrew makes no effort to be friends with them. That’s why it’s such a relief when Nick comes along. He keeps the ambulance stocked, he can drive well, and he knows how to start an IV. He’s great at saving lives, and also a great person to hang out with. From hiking to movies, they find themselves spending a lot of time with each other. Nick’s homosexuality definitely isn’t a problem, even though Andrew’s girlfriend jokes that he wants to spend more time with Nick than with her.

When Andrew gets the chance of a lifetime – going to the prestigious UCLA Medical School – his girlfriend doesn’t share his enthusiasm. And so, freshly broken up, Andrew asks Nick to go with him on a road trip down south to check out the area. Nick wants to keep him as his best friend, even though his romantic feelings have reached a fever pitch. But he also realizes that this could be his last chance to let Andrew know how he feels. Will Andrew let Nick into his heart, or will this road trip be their last hurrah?

Me after finishing this book:

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

After this blurb, I was totally expecting this sugared and cute gay romance with a road trip and friends-to-lovers plot. Well, there are plenty of cute moments, but this book was so much more than I bargained for. I was into a powerful and unstoppable roller coaster from beginning to end and OMG how much I have teared up! Elsa and Brad did an awesome job, pulling my heart out with tweezers. It just didn’t make for the big 5 stars because I had a serious problem with Nick using “et cetera”, “la la la” and “bla bla bla” ALL. THE. FREAKING. TIME. And as if it wasn’t enough, Other characters would say the same stuff in their speech, so huge turn off. All in all, still an awesome book ❤

The narrative was first person from Nick’s point of view. I liked him a lot both as a character and as a narrator, so we hit it off greatly, haha! #veryimportant Winters & Vance’s writing also was a huge turn on, as the reader felt a part of Nick and Andrew’s team ❤ Raw and real emotions are all over this book, like an open diary. My only real problem with this book is actually here, as I had pointed earlier: I was highly bothered by all the times I read all the forms of lazy line continuations like “et cetera” and its mentioned friends. If I was more bitchy and less lazy, I’d have highlighted all occurrences on my e-reader to count them. It was that ridiculous.

I mean, I don’t mind some usage of those language resources here and there, it’s okay. But I guess that all things that are too repeated are fated to be tiresome.

The plot hid most of its twists inside Nick and Andrew’s pasts, which I particularly found very cool. There were some more moments that left me wondering, but there are no big mysteries or complexity. To be honest, I felt like I was reading Nick’s diary rather than a book and it was a lovely experience *–*

The characters are the strongest trait of the book, without doubt. Nick is captivating and a sweetie, Andrew is the skeptical hot guy and everyone around them bet against the odds of they working as a team. Yet, they do work. They are perfect for each other in all social aspects. And both men made me think a lot about my own life choices.

We better sit down, I’m on a reflexive more right now.

We have in The Road Home the typical really poor guy that reached success through a strong will and the rich and rebellious guy that left the path drawn for him to pursue his own interests, no matter the costs. However, both Nick and Andrew always felt like something was missing from their lives, even on their better moments.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that The Road Home led me to three big social questions:

How much do we actually chase our dreams?

How far must we run alone before accepting a ride to reach our goals?

How should we know who we’re supposed to let in inside our dream and who should we keep away?

I have finished the book on Jan. 1^st, so I had two days to think about this and, honestly? I still don’t have answers. Not for me, not for Nick and not for Andrew. Maybe this book was such a ride for me because it spit on my face how we can always work a little harder and think a little more to find the perfect solution to anything we must face in life.

ANYWAY, let’s lighten the mood a little, right? Haha! Sorry for being so intense and personal, this book made its way to my heart before I knew it, oops!

QUOTES TIME!

“All he’d [Andrew] written was, ‘You don’t suck’. It was the greatest moment of my life.” – Nick

~*~

“It’s the people who know you best and longest, who can really fucking hurt you.” – Andrew

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And this killer dialogue:

Susan: Is Andrew awake?

Nick: No. His spirit must be summoned from the other side with a cup of coffee right under his nose.

~*~

If you like Gay New Adult Contemporary Romance and emotional books, you just NEED this one in your shelves ❤

~*~

And we’re done! Thank you so much for reading this review and thanks to the Hidden Gems team for my review copy of The Road Home ❤

Do you guys have a book that have made you stop and think back about your whole life? #nosy

With love,